ABSTRACT
Another major concern of international organisations under the influence of neoliberal theory has been how to provide the finance that entrepreneurs need in order to grow. The most striking feature of the artisan’s relationship with the financial sector, however, has been their almost universal distrust of the banks. This was true before the financial crash of 1999 and it increased after they lost their savings in the neoliberal end-of-millennium crisis that resulted in hyper-inflation, bank failure and dollarisation. The concern of economists about access to finance is based on the false assumptions that the artisans have a burning desire to grow their businesses and that lack of access to finance is holding them back. Being the owner of a large business is a dream of many, but it is no more than a daydream. Artisans are much more pragmatic.
